LETTER: Don't Blame Law-Abiding, Taxpaying, Voting Citizens

February 22, 2013

I am a current employee of the Connecticut Department of Corrections. I have read several articles concerning gun proposed laws, and the problem isn't with the law-abiding citizens, it is with the penalties for obtaining a weapon illegally.

I am just as horrified as everyone else about the Newtown incident, however, Adam Lanza was a criminal, not a law-abiding citizen. Why should the law-abiding, taxpaying, voting citizens of the United States pay for his crimes?

The problem is in the judicial system, which allows plea agreements to lesser charges. The criminals aren't being punished properly. Criminal possession of a firearm is a two-year sentence, which means after serving one year they are eligible for release to transitional supervision. They get to go home.

Make the penalties stiffer so it's not worth it to a criminal to break the law.